Andy Sagan, MD

Everyone has a different style and approach. I appreciate Dr. Sagan’s. I have been taking my daughter to him since she was born. I have had no issues with the care and advice given to me in the past 4 years. His directness is no problem in my view as I don’t need to be handled with kid gloves. Just tell me the facts and get to the point. Don’t waste my time with 20 minutes of unneeded antidotes.
The nurses are very friendly and caring. I couldn’t do their jobs. Administering shots to screaming crying kids and babies, no thank you!
Also, I agree with his views on vaccines.
This would have been a 5 star review except I have not been super happy with the front desk staff. Some of them are not very nice or welcoming. But I’m there for my child’s care by the doctors and nurses. Not for them. So I put up with their rudeness.

Dr. Sagan has a practical, evidence-​based approach to children’s well-​being, and he communicates in a very clear and direct way, which is refreshing since there’s so much uninformed and misleading information about child raising out there. We have also had good experiences with other members of the practice.

Positives:
–Amazing front desk and nursing staff, especially head nurse Maria
–Office responds quickly, particularly if you take advantage of their online portal
–Clean and efficient
The reason for this 2-​star review is primarily Dr. Sagan’s bedside manner. I find him to be aloof, condescending, and generally as if he’s on auto-​pilot/​just going through the motions. I’m a parent completely on-​board with Dr. Sagan’s old-​school philosophy, I haven’t challenged him on any of his advice, I am informed, but not overly opinionated, so I’m not sure why he is so cold to us. I appreciate directness and honesty, but don’t appreciate unfriendliness or just being stared at whenever I answer a question. During our appointments, he doesn’t smile or interact with my baby, nor does he seem to know my child’s name (or even take 2 seconds to reference his name on the computer screen). At our last appointment, several times he asked how many months this well-​baby check-​up was for. He’s made a couple comments that don’t seem very supportive of breastfeeding. The last straw was the way Dr. Sagan handled a quick, but painful procedure my son needed done at his last appointment. He didn’t explain what he was going to do beforehand at all. My baby screamed bloody murder, and we were both traumatized. After the fact, I’ve learned the procedure is relatively common, and I have no doubts it was performed correctly, but it was still a bit of a shock.
I trust Dr. Sagan’s medical sense, but he wasn’t the right fit for our family. If you are looking for a no-​nonsense doctor, he might be right for you. But I’d highly recommend meeting him beforehand. We moved halfway across the country on very little notice, so we weren’t given this luxury.

My daughter’s pediatrician is another doctor in the same practice as Dr. Sagan. Usually, our visits to the office are very positive. The office staff is great with my daughter and very caring.
When my daughter became ill, I called the after hours line to inquire about whether her symptoms warranted an office visit. Dr. Sagan returned the call a few hours later. However, unlike the rest of the staff at this practice, Dr. Sagan was rude, curt, and talked down to me. I was so caught off-​guard I was almost speechless! When I asked follow-​up questions, he continued to speak to me rudely. I am very glad that he is not my daughter’s pediatrician. If you want a pediatrician that will treat you as respectfully without judgment, I wouldn’t suggest this provider.

As a direct person myself, I definitely enjoy Dr. Sagan’s style. He answers questions without sugar coating. I did ask about vaccines and unlike others who have complained, I was not treated like an ignoramus. He was not condescending in the least, just very direct.
He is kind to my baby girl, he has fed and changed her. He is witty and has a bit of a dry sense of humor. He has lots of life in his eyes, despite one reviewer’s claim. (!) He is clearly very intelligent and well-​educated, a perfect match for us.
A+ Doc!

I’ve been going to Dr. Sagan for 7 years now. I followed him from Northwestern and have been very happy with his straightforward approach. Also appreciate his love of reptiles, it’s fun to talk about. What bothers me about the practice is that they only book 2 months out. Their system does not take reservations beyond two months… so it’s up to me to «call back in 1 – 2 weeks» once a new month opens up. It’s extremely irritating to me that you cannot book 5 – 6 months out— not customer friendly at all.

Dr. Sagan is amazing! He is upbeat, practical and easy going. He is able to tell my twins apart even though they are identical. He has been the pediatrician for all three of my girls and I couldn’t imagine them seeing any other doctor. The staff here is so caring from weighing in, documentation and vaccinations. They have such a calm approach at this office. Even though you know how busy they are you never feel rushed. The office is very well kept and they have an organized atmosphere which I can appreciate. His nurse Maria is very friendly and she is great with the babies when giving the vaccinations shes so gentle. You can just tell that she cares. Overall I really can’t say enough good things about Dr. Sagan and staff. They are a amazing and I always enjoy the care and attentiveness that my children receive.

We started going to Dr. Sagan because the original practice we chose at Swedish was not a match for us. When we first met, his style is very direct and he prefers that his patients’ parents/​guardians answer his questions with facts and not anecdotal information. I actually find that a bit amusing because I tend to be the same way when I am conducting business.
In our experiences with him, he tends to offer practical advice. He does not cater to families who desire a lot of stroking. In our case, we have 3 boys under 4 so we don’t really need/​want that. On the other hand, every time I have left a message for him, he has always returned my call the same day. I have not always found that to be the case with even much larger practices. When he speaks with me over the telephone, he is very thorough and follows the same style that he does in his office.
Our family has been at his practice for about a year. I rather enjoy his demeanor. He has shared person information such as he likes reptiles and even has a snake. I think that if I was a mom of 3 toddler girls, I would have found that little factoid a bit odd. However, since I have boys, I just think, «Hmmmm, I wonder if my guys will be into snakes when they grow up?»
He has been very supportive towards our efforts in potty training and disciplining our boys. He chuckles when we bring them in because they can become a tad unruly. He has been known to redirect them in a somewhat firm manner. I don’t actually mind that quality because it’s kind of nice to have someone back me up when I am alone with them. I get a little tired of being the stern one and he clearly is comfortable letting them know that their behavior needs some adjusting. He has offered us suggestions on books to read that deal with behavior and discipline. I haven’t read them all but I have some and I agree with much of what they teach.
The net/​net is that he is well educated and has been practicing for a good length of time. If you are a parent who just wants some straight-​talk when it comes to your child’s health and well-​being, Dr. Sagan will be a good match for your family.

Dr. Sagan was a great pediatrician. He has a no-​nonsense approach and really helped us understand what to expect from our child. I highly recommend.

I would like to offer another point of view based on my recent experience meeting Dr. Sagan. I am in the process of interviewing Pediatricians — I chose 4 based on Unilocal reviews and recommendations. Dr. Sagan was my last meet and greet. I arrived at his office a few minutes early which was a good thing, because the staff were heading home for the day. They seemed perplexed by my presence and I explained that I had an appointment with the doctor. After some looking through paperwork, they realized that I had been scheduled for a date in June which is actually my due date. The woman who scheduled my appointment must have messed something up. Anyway, they said the doctor was indeed giving a talk down the street in another building to expectant parents and I could walk over there and speak to him. That is what I decided to do even though I wasn’t in need of a basic parenting class as this is my second pregnancy. I actually wanted to talk one on one with him. I sat through the first part of the talk and then he approached me to see if I had any questions during the break. One of the questions I asked him was if he had privileges at Prentice and he said no. I told the receptionist that is where I am delivering when I called to schedule the appointment. A bit annoying, but not a big deal if I really liked the doctor. I could always use one doctor in the hospital and then transfer to Dr. Sagan after being discharged. I also asked him if he was open to an alternative vaccine schedule. Before I could even clarify what I meant by that, he became very aggressive verbally. He used unprofessional comments like «those parents are selfish» and «Dr. Sears should be arrested and locked up». He also said not only will he not have the vaccine conversation with parents, but those parents are unwelcome in his practice and ignorant”. He reiterated the word «selfish» many times throughout the rant. Without detailing the entire conversation, I will say this, he has extremely rigid views. He used the word «militant» when referring to his stand on vaccines. I just realize from our brief interaction that parents aren’t partners in his practice. He talks at you, not with you. He never asked me why I was inquiring about an alternative schedule or any other questions for that matter. If you are looking for a Pediatrician who is willing to have a dialogue with you about your child’s health and shows professionalism even if they feel strong about a subject, I suggest you look for another doctor. I am SO happy that I have decided to interview doctors personally before selecting one. The other three I interviewed had various styles, approaches and views on vaccines, etc., but they all showed respect, professionalism and asked me lots of great questions. Plus their offices didn’t screw up my appointment.
Good luck with your Pediatrician search!

Dr. Sagan and his office were a breath of freshair to us after going through the first few months of our daughter’s life with a decidedly wrong match with our first pediatrician.
First of all, Dr. Sagan is reasonable, knowledgeable and very calming. He doesn’t get worked up about little things and he is super compassionate with kids. I love how he comes into the appointment prepared with all his information on his tablet, and easily can pull up information from prior visits. He never seems rushed but is always on time for appointments— how does he do this?
I love the option for «quick sick» visits and love that we have never waited more than 5 minutes for an appointment. Weekend calls are returned promptly and the office staff is easy to work with. There is currently $ 2 valet parking outside and hopefully this will continue. A great doctor, great practice.

My wife and I just had our first child and, needless to say, we were a little lost on how to go about finding the right pediatrician. My wife read a ton of reviews and came to the conclusion that Dr. Sagan was the best choice for us based on user reviews, location, and availability. We have seen him 4 times so far and he has been great every time. He takes the time to explain things in a no-​nonsense way and is great at problem-​solving when an issue arises. So far I’m impressed with his knowledge base, professionalism, and candor. I will update this review as our experience with him grows.

Choosing a pediatrician wasn’t very hard for us after doing our research online and chatting with other staff at Swedish Covenant Hospital. Dr. Sagan was recommended by word-​of-​mouth, so I attempted to attend one of his «baby care» workshops for expecting mothers at SCH. For some reason, we could not make it to the workshop (actually, I *think* we didn’t go because I was too tired to go! Oh the joys of pregnancy) — but I went with my gut and still chose him as our daughter’s PCP. We first met Dr. Sagan the day our daughter was born and had a great first impression — he was thorough, explained everything he was doing, and was gentle with our daughter (yet swift enough to not make her uncomfortable for too long during the exam). The man knows his stuff, and he is patient with the first time mommy jitters. He’s returned my calls late at night to interpret my baby’s cries, he’s assured me that I am doing my job as a mom, and he has told me about how cute my baby is (come on, what Mom doesn’t want to hear that?!).
His office staff is FANTASTIC as well — whether or not they *actually* remember my daughter’s name doesn’t really matter — what matters is, they prepare themselves enough that when we walk in the door they can call us by name. They are very personable, and the nurse is great too (we have always seen the same nurse, not sure if there are more on staff or not). You can tell that Dr. Sagan doesn’t just hire anybody for his staff — they are all wonderful!
Sadly, we decided to leave and go to another pediatrician that is closer to our home and our daughter’s daycare. The new pediatrician (who is affiliated with a different hospital and is part of a different medical group) knew who Dr. Sagan was and had great things to say about him as well — so even from a professional (and competitors) standpoint, he’s fantastic :-)

My husband is infatuated with the city; I am not. He makes more money than me so he wins and we live in the city though we both commute to the suburbs. When we had our baby at the end of 2009, we needed to find a pediatrician. Should we go with one in the suburbs where baby would be in daycare? Or should we go with one near home? For us, our answer was to go with one near home… but who? I asked around and a friend of mine from the south side asked her pediatrician if he had any recommendations for someone on the north side and he suggested Dr. Andy Sagan.
We looked into it (along with several others we found during online research) and attended a meet and greet type of deal and decided that Dr. Andy Sagan would be our pediatrician. It was clear as day that his primary concern was the child– and not coddling the parents. And even if we are first time parents, we knew that we wanted a doctor who wouldn’t be afraid to tell us that we were being stupid– if that were the case.
From our first appointment when baby was a mere 5 days old, Dr. Sagan has always worked with us to help us ensure we take care of our baby with the utmost care. He suggested books early on and with every appointment, continues to mention things to look for that our child should be achieving for the next appointment, etc.
The most important factor is that our baby is always very comfortable around Dr. Sagan. And really, it’s always so clear how much he loves children. There’s an automatic comfort when he comes into the room.
The hours are decent– even being available one Saturday a month and having first in the morning type of urgent appointments.
The parking was OK (there was a dollar lot next to the building) but is just recently being turned into some other structure! So parking is not so good anymore– which is the ONLY reason I cannot give a five star review.

I recently switched to Northside Pediatrics because we switched primary care groups and had to pick a new pediatrician for my 2 year old son. Dr. Sagan is our pediatrician and I believe he is as good as a pediatrician gets!!!
We met him at our 2 year well child appointment. He really takes the time with the child and with the parents to discuss anything that you can think of regarding health and parenting. He also has a blog where you can communicate with him about any parenting or health issues.
Last week my son started to get sick. I took him to Dr. Sagan. My son’s symptoms did not add to anything typical, though it seemed like either an ear infection, mono, strep… Instead of jumping to conclusions and prescribing antibiotics just to see if it works Dr. Sagan took the time to contact other pediatricians to diagnose my son’s ailment. He kept in touch with me throughout the week by phone and appointments, even called at 9−10pm to ease my concerns. Eventually he referred us to the Children’s Memorial Hospital because he believed that my son may have had Kawasaki Disease (there is no clear diagnoses for this sickness; only about 19 of 100 000 kids get it; most pediatricians either think it is viral and will go away or they start to try different antibiotics). If KD is left untreated within the first 10 days of symptoms it can lead to significant heart problems. Even though KD is uncommon and hard to diagnose, Dr. Sagan’s persistence on trying to figure out my son’s case resulted in my son receiving the care he needed on day 6. We’re so grateful that Dr. Sagan was quick on his feet and thought through our son’s case.
Dr. Sagan is a thorough, smart and caring pediatrician. He is personable, approachable and he makes us feel like he is a part of our family team in raising a healthy, well-​adjusted child.
Thank you Dr. Sagan!
PS. The staff is also very friendly and helpful. Each visit had minimal wait time. Just an overall positive experience every time.